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Just Another Girl and her Books
Monday, October 14, 2024
*Top Ten Tuesday* Books I Was Assigned to Read in School
Saturday, October 12, 2024
*Review* School is Full of Superheroes by Michael Dahl
Where in the universe do the most powerful heroes assemble? School, of course! In this action-packed picture book, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and other DC Comics superheroes mirror the heroic tasks of real-life school figures. A principal leads their school toward a common goal, just like Aquaman commands his schools of sea life. A teacher demonstrates compassion with the same energy as the Amazon Princess, Wonder Woman. School custodians clean classrooms with the lightning-quick speed of The Flash. Written by award-winning author Michael Dahl, this powerful picture book is a Thank You to essential school workers, showcasing their everyday heroism. The perfect Teacher Appreciation gift or an inspiring read-aloud for any young student.
Michael Dahl is the prolific author of the bestselling Goodnight, Baseball picture book and more than 200 other books for children and young adults. He has won the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award three times for his nonfiction, a Teacher's Choice award from Learning magazine, and a Seal of Excellence from the Creative Child Awards. Dahl currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
*Review* Treasures of the Lochs by Hunter White
A long-lost treasure, a deadly chase, and a magnificent beast of legends
For almost three hundred years, people have searched for one of the greatest treasures in history—the lost gold of the Scottish Jacobites. Following his father’s death and a brazen late-night break-in at the United States Naval Academy, Lieutenant Carter Porter, his life and career in tatters, unwittingly joins the quest.
In Scotland, Hassie Douglass, a spirited young employee of a luxury inn situated on the picturesque shores of Loch Ness, thinks her prayers have been answered when she stumbles across four old gold coins that may be part of the Jacobite treasure. But she can’t tell anybody how she really found them; they would think she had lost her mind. Who would believe she followed a strange, ethereal voice emanating from the loch? Struggling to accept what she heard, she can’t deny that the gold in her hand is real.
The allure of such a valuable cache draws evil, like the moth to a flame. No sooner does Carter receive a strange bequest from his late father and Hassie’s find is publicized than a shadowy, well-armed group of mercenaries attacks each of them. Soon, Carter’s and Hassie’s fates are joined, and their survival depends on solving more than one ancient mystery while facing their worst nightmares.
Blending historical fact and Scottish legend within an action-packed adventure, Treasures of the Lochs is an exciting, powerful story of faith, friendship, and redemption.
Hunter H. White practices law in Houston, Texas, where he lives with his wife of over thirty years. He has had a lifelong love of creative writing, and publishing this book has been a dream come true.
*Review* Blue Ribbon Radishes by Kimberly Derting and Shelli R. Johannes
Shelli R. Johannes is the author of Shine Like a Unicorn, the Theo Thesaurus series, and Florence Nightingale, a new chapter book in Chelsea Clinton's She Persisted series. Shelli is also the co-author of Penny, the Engineering Tale of the Fourth Little Pig, and the Cece Loves Science picture book series. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her British husband, two teens, two needy Goldendoodles, and one super sassy bird.
*Review* The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
*Review* The Bounciest Monster on Mill Street by Sarah Sparks
She needed to dance. She needed to giggle.
She needed adventure, excitement, and thrill…
But that also meant, Becks never sat still.
Becks is known for her boundless energy and zest for life, but one day it gets her into a heap of trouble! From muddy messes to a cake catastrophe, and a high-flying journey to the stars—join this high-spirited monster on an unforgettable bouncing escapade down Mill Street (and beyond).
With lively illustrations and playful rhymes, this award-winning adventure is filled with chaos, unexpected challenges, and page after page of laughs. It's a book packed with so much monster-sized fun your child will want to read it again and again!
*Review* Casalvento by Gudrun Cuillo
Erika Germoglio is a self-made woman who has it all—a successful career and a well-connected fiancé—then suddenly has even more. An Italian grandfather she has never met wills to her Casalvento, a house and a vineyard, and Livernano, a medieval village turned bed-and-breakfast, both in the Chianti region of Tuscany.
When Erika travels to Italy to settle the affairs of her inheritance, she meets Paolo, Casalvento’s intelligent, compassionate, and strikingly handsome estate manager and wine maker. And she learns the inheritance comes with a catch—to keep or sell Casalvento and Livernano, she must live there and learn the business of the two estates for five months.
Should she uproot her New York life and embrace all Italy has to offer? And if she chooses Italy, which man will be by her side? Erika struggles with that question while fulfilling the stipulations of the will and trying to make sense of a series of letters left for her by her late grandfather, Craig’s unpredictable attitude when she calls home, and her own feelings whenever she sees Paolo.
Set in the real Casalvento (House of the Wind) of Radda and Livernano in Chianti Siena, Italy, debut author Gudrun Cuillo’s Casalvento will captivate your heart and make you wonder if not only in vino veritas, but also possibly in vino amore e felicità .
Gudrun Cuillo spent her childhood in Leibnitz, Austria. As a young adult, with her instinctive artistic flair, she joined the opera as an artist-in-residence for stage scenery and makeup. That work eventually took Gudrun to New York to continue her education.
While enjoying traveling throughout the U.S., Gudrun came to Florida where she fell in love with a successful entrepreneur and Broadway producer, Robert Cuillo, who was also Italian American. They married and in the ensuing years they established Casalvento Winery in Radda, Chianti Siena, Italy, and restored Livernano, a nearby medieval village, to its original splendor.
Gudrun has had two career passions: winemaking, which has garnered numerous awards and much recognition for Casalvento Winery, and writing. In her debut novel, Gudrun combines her life experience with her gift for storytelling.
Gudrun spends her time between Austria, Italy, and Palm Beach, Florida.